Pantauchus () (late 4th century BC – 3rd century BC), (son of Nicolaus, from

Aloros Alorus or Aloros () was a town of ancient Macedonia in the district Bottiaea, placed by Stephanus of Byzantium in the innermost recess of the Thermaic Gulf. According to the ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' it was situated between the Haliacmon and Ly ...

) was a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

trierarch Trierarch () was the title of officers who commanded a trireme (''triēres'') in the classical Greek world. In Classical Athens, the title was associated with the trierarchy (τριηραρχία, ''triērarchia''), one of the public offices or ...

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at t ...

's fleet and general during the short reign of

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

(294 - 288 BC). He was considered to be the bravest as well as physically the strongest among Demetrius' army commanders. When Demetrius decided to invade

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

, king

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

set out to meet him with his army. However, the two armies marched following different directions and did not encounter each other. As a result, Demetrius started pillaging Epirote territory. He had stationed a large proportion of his forces in Aetolia under Pantauchus' orders. Consequently, Pyrrhus led his troops into battle against Pantauchus. The conflict was remarkable for its intensity and harsh nature, since commanders from both sides displayed great courage and dare. Pantauchus challenged king Pyrrhus himself and soon enough a hard duel began between them. Initially, they used their spears but after a while they engaged in

hand to hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

with swords. The two men were skillful fighters and Pantauchus struck the Epirote king once but Pyrrhus wounded his opponent in the thigh and along the neck. The Macedonian general was forced to flee and his companions managed to rescue him.

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Pyrrhus'', 7. Pyrrhus' legendary personal valor and fighting ability proved crucial for the battle's result, since the Epirotes were greatly inspired by their ruler's example and crushed the enemy phalanx. Several retreating Macedonians were killed and 5,000 were captured.

References

*{{usurped,
Ancient Library
} 4th-century BC births 3rd-century BC deaths Ancient Macedonian generals Trierarchs of Nearchus' fleet Ancient Alorites People from Imathia Pyrrhus of Epirus

See also

References